Craig Robinson is finally able to stand on the pedestal and say he's qualified for the Ironman world championships in Hawaii - otherwise known as Ironman Kona.
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The Port Macquarie triathlete finished fourth in his age group at Ironman Australia Port Macquarie on May 1 and he says his trip to Hawaii in October will be his swansong.
"Kona is one of those goals; something to put on the pedestal to say you made it I guess," he said.
"I don't know why it became such a goal and why everyone is fixated on getting there. It's one of those races that was on the bucket list and I just wanted to be able to tick it off."
He said it also means wife Toni will be happy.
"I don't have to try and madly train for another qualifier to get there which is good news on the family front."
Being able to achieve the goal in his hometown of Port Macquarie had made it that little bit more special.
"It was really my second serious attempt [at qualification], but the Ironman was my sixth one in Port Macquarie," he said.
"To do it at Port Macquarie as a local is always nice."
Robinson has previously travelled to Hawaii for family holidays, but has never been on the island on race day.
The 43-year-old accountant realised about halfway through the run leg a fortnight ago that he was in with a shot at qualification.
With coach Clayton Fettell shouting encouragement from the roadside he was able to maintain his speed to finish fourth in his age group and 24th overall.
"I was trying to do the maths while on the run which is always troublesome when you're a little bit exhausted," he said.
"But I had a coach giving me updates and reminding me what I had trained for and he didn't let me forget which was great motivation."
Robinson will race on October 8.
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